Practice, practice, practice

More than a month later, I’ve taken quilting by the horns. Well, at least I’ve attempted to do so :).

I’ve made a bunch of blocks, some for the quilt I described earlier and others for swaps. Many are simply “practice” blocks. I have to admit that this isn’t coming easy to me – I have to work at every seam, rip out constantly, measure and re-measure, correct, try again. Many blocks are too small, unsalvageable. But I also feel that I’m learning and getting better, able to attempt more and more complicated piecing every time. And that’s what it’s all about, right?

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21 thoughts on “Practice, practice, practice”

Some of those blocks shown here are not the easiest–be very proud of yourself! You’re doing a great job. And, yes, the cutting of the pieces and the seams on quilt blocks must be very exact for it all to fit together correctly. Take it slow and easy on the cutting and the seaming and all will be perfect!

So lovely to see you getting in to quilting. I love reading your blog for the knitting exploits, and I can’t wait to hear about your adventures with piecing quilts. Looks like everything is progressing well so far. I love the red & white print combos – striking, and timeless.

Beautiful blocks! You mentioned that many are too small – don’t forget that “turn of cloth” at the seams takes up a teensy bit of your quarter inch seam, and the more seams there are and the thicker (and often, better quality of) your fabric, of course, the more this affects the finished size of the block.

Some sewing machines come with an accessory called a “scant quarter inch foot”; if you don’t have one, try sewing seams just a bit of millimeter less than a quarter inch. Or, you can stick a small stack of post-it notes on the machine bed to the right of your presser foot, just under a quarter inch from where the needle will pierce the fabric. This makes a good fabric guide.

Also, instead of scissors, are you using a rotary cutter with a mat and good rulers? Accuracy made easy! It does get easier, and it looks to me as though you are making great progress. Have fun!

Makes me smile, you use the same expression “to take by the horns” as I did as was blogging about my first icon-painting experience a month ago! (I just used finnish…) Quilting will still have to wait, I need to do more painting.

You’re efforts give me hope. I have recently taking up quilting and was quite horrible at the cuts and seaming. However, after seeing your posts about how you’ve improved, I think I will continue to practice, practice, practice. Thanks!!!